Sheikhupura is famous for its quality rice and historical places. The city itself was founded by Moghul Emperor Jahangir more than four centuries ago in 1607, and made district headquarters exactly a century ago (in 1922),
Named then as Jahangirpura, with the status of a royal hunting ground, it was later renamed as Sheikhupura after Emperor Jahangir’s nickname ‘Sheikhu’ given to him by his mother. The district houses some historically significant sites including Sheikhupura Fort, Hiran Minar, mausoleum of Waris Shah at Jandiala Sher Khan, and the National Marian Shrine visited by Christians each year. Until 2005, Janam Asthan Nankana Sahib, the birthplace of the founder of Sikh religion Baba Guru Nanak, was also part of it before it was made a separate district.
A smaller and relatively young district of little less than 600,000 acres, Lodhran was carved out of Multan in 1991. With Multan turning more of a cosmopolitan urban and commercial centre in the last three decades, its offspring preferred to stay as a parental extension: socially conservative, culturally traditional and predominantly agricultural.
With industry almost non-existent, agriculture is the way of life for the district dwellers all its 600,000 acres are cultivated and divided into smallholdings for two reasons.
The massive inflow of settlers from other parts of the country during the last century was never expected to purchase bigger chunks of land. Big local, traditional and politically influential land-owning families saw their heritage divided during the same period and most of them have lost the feudal lustre. The district is thus more of a social relief in the otherwise feudal belt of South Punjab.
Carved out of Multan district in 1976, the district of Vehari is unique in more ways than one. It was the second district (after Rahim Yar Khan) which revolted against cotton, despite being the biggest producer of the crop in the nineties. Till the 1990s, it was a common claim that Vehari alone produced 80 per cent of Sindh’s cotton production.
The district also shares the distinction with its neighbouring Pakpattan of being a native base of the world-acclaimed Neeli breed of buffalo, which was later crossbred with another breed called Ravi, a combination that enjoyed international success. These breeds enjoyed unparalleled commercial success in the world of diary till they started losing out to cattle that was continuously genetically improved.